1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to fabricating devices and, in particular, to depositing materials onto substrates.
2. Background
In the deposition of layers of material to form thin films and/or coatings for the manufacturing of durable and multifunctional layers, a layer of material may be deposited on a substrate as part of the process. Thin film deposition may be relevant to the manufacturing of devices. These devices may include, for example, without limitation, semiconductor circuits and computer displays. These thin films may be a part of the electronic operational functions of the device or may be used as protection layers for erosion and/or abrasion.
A layer of material also may be deposited in forming optical coatings on optics. These optical coatings may offer, for example, without limitation, anti-reflective and/or anti-icing properties.
The deposition of materials onto substrates may be performed in a number of different ways. For example, the materials may be deposited using physical vapor deposition, chemical vapor deposition, electrochemical deposition, molecular beam epitaxy, and other types of deposition.
Some forms of deposition may use plasma. For example, chemical vapor deposition may be implemented using plasma. This type of deposition may be referred to as plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, plasma vapor deposition, atmospheric plasma deposition, and/or open air plasma deposition.
When using plasma to deposit a layer of material, the deposition of material onto the substrate may occur in vacuum and/or atmospheric conditions. Substrates may be coated with various materials, such as, for example, without limitation, oxides, metals, polymers, and other suitable types of materials.
Typically, plasma deposition systems have been developed using vacuum conditions. However, using plasma deposition under vacuum conditions may require additional bulky, expensive equipment and complexity to obtain the appropriate vacuum conditions for depositing materials onto the substrate.
Interest in atmospheric deposition systems may rely on cost effectiveness and the versatility of this type of deposition technique. These systems may be designed in mobile modular structures for use in field-related applications outside of a laboratory or plant.
Atmospheric deposition systems may also be referred to as open-air deposition systems. With atmospheric conditions, bulky and costly vacuum pumps and other equipment for providing vacuum environments may be avoided.
These types of deposition systems, however, still may not provide as much throughput as desired for processing substrates. Also, these systems may not provide as much control as desired in depositing material onto a substrate.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as possibly other issues.